Twine-holder.



1., A. BURNHAM. TWINE HOLDER,

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1916 1 344 511 Patented 001;.23, 1917.

' /A/ l/A'N 7-05 Na 2 beauty and utility which it is'intended by 35signs -oftwine holding devices, adaptability to the part ofthe twineholder which is "im-' JOIENA. nuimneivr, or Wanner; MAssAeHusETTs.

TWINE-HOLDER.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

Applieation filedfl'aiiuary 3, 19 1 6. Seria1'No. 69-,737;

" Tona whom z'tmayconcern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A- BURNHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Wenham, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in Twine-Holders, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention: relates to improvements in twine holders; Moreparticularly it relates to improvements in mechanical devices whosjeattributes are such that they are available for use as'mechanical or'function-serv ing elements in devices intended'tobe of esthetic as wellas of practicalvalue. Countless types I of twine holders have heretoforebeen-known to the public, or-suggested for manufacture, which arewithout exception lacking in availability for use in any constructionthat is desired to have esthetic merit, or-ih'one having thatcombination of the present invention to make possible. For example, theI ordinary cast iron M grating twine-ball-cage {looks "out of harmonyand discordant in a place, si1ch;as' agift,sh0p, tea-room or r'oomfin ahcmewhere the other surroundings are pleasingto the eye. It" is apurpose of the presentinvention topicvide means which areadaptable forusewith various ornamental designs to hold balls or twine of varioussize or shape efiectively,-so faras the function of holding the twine isconcerned, and with some advantages. not possessedby any structureheretofore known to me such as adaptability to 1 different de'- in theesthetic sensetojharmonize withand form a part of such designs in formand in color, and adaptabilityito littering sizes of ball. Theinvention'relates more especially Inediately in contactwith the ball of;twine; The objects of the invention are accomplished by providing ballretaining pro-. ject'i'o'ns inthe form of pliant sheet metal fingerswhichc'anbe molded intothe' desired shape, preferably in threedimensions, which when i so molded aresuiiiciently stiff *to hold thetwine and which yet aresufiicientlyfleXi-E ble to permit of beingshiftedin form or position in accordance with the art of the designer ortheneeds of the user, and which, because of these characteristics can bemade a part of a designgwhose greater part is executed in the basesupporting the said-ball retaining projections. Oneembodiment of theinvention. is illustrated in accompanying drawings, but it is to beunderstood that'the invention maybe embodied in a multitude of formswithin the scope otthe'appended claims, of which this is only oneillustration; It isintended that the patent shall cover by suitableexpression in the appended claims whatever features of patentablenovelty are disclosed herein. I I In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is-a' side elevation of a twine holderpartly in section; I Fig.2is aplan of the same withparts removed and with other parts changed inposition. I

Referring" to the-drawings, 10 indicates a plinth adapted to resthorizontally on a counter ortable, and 11- an upright pieceheld"thereby. 1 Each of these may conveniently be made by sawing from aboardythe part 11 resting edgewise on the part '10 and being securedthereto by screws 12-01: by any other suitable means. They may,'however,be made in any other suitable way, as by casting in plaster ormetal.Thepart 11 is represented as being cutand paintedsoas to represent byform and coloringa flower basket or an urn 0 containing tulips, theleavesc of which are seen, and'the stems?) in conventional design. Whilethe drawing shown herein is wholly in 'black andwhite owing to thelimitations of rules affecting patents, the article itself may becolored, as indeed is indicated by the conventionalrep resentation 13 ofgreen upon th'e leaves a and stems b. Forming a part of this-design,andgrowingou'tof it,- as-it wereyare the ballreta ine-rs, of which threeare shown, each" in this instance representingacalyx, and each beingheld bya screw" 14 upon a base" consisting vof one of the conventionalstems--'b ofthedesign into which thewo o'de'n one of them is representedas having been opened from the finished form of the others into a nearlyflat form. Having been originally cut into this form the individualprojecting sections may be shaped by pressure of ones fingers into theconcave and more or less spherical form indicated by the shadings at theright in Fig. 2 and by the shapes shown in the other parts of thedrawing and then may be bent up together to. form the holder, sup-portedon the end of a stem Z) and extending in the same general direction. Inthis the interior of the sheet of metal approximates the shape of a ballof twine, and the ball retaining projections become stifi'er because oftheir curvature in three dimensions. The projecting sections iii-maythen be painted as a part of a whole design including the wooden support11, parts of which become the leaves a, the stems Z), and the urn c, theprojecting section 15 in this instance becoming sepals. In use, a ballof twine may be set in, the sepals upon the same being bent open enoughfor the purpose, and then may be gripped by pressing the sepals backagainst the ball as indicated at the right in Fig. l, where the point ofone of the sepals isseen to have been pressed a little into the ball oftwine. This holds the ball with suflicient firmness. Ordinarily twine isdrawn from 1 the center of such'a ball and the position does not need tobe frequently changed, but when the ball is sufliciently exhausted thesepals can be bent in to any desired degree so as to hold the remnantsof the ball, after which they may be bent out and a fresh ball inserted..7

A particular characteristic to which attention is directed is the factthat these twine retaining projections which are marked 15 in thedrawing can with the greatest case be cut by the maker to har-j nonizewith any design which he may happen to prefer. Ardesign of tulips isshown,

in which the green of the leaves and of the sepals,blends with the colorof the ball of twine, which may be selected to be held by it,,thusproducing a holder which is both graceful and of proven commercialvalue. However, the design might be made with rose leaves or lilies, inwhich case thelead twine retaining projections 15 would be shapedvariously, in harmony with the design, but would serve equally welltheir function of holding the twine. Or the design might be that of someother idea not at all drawn from plant life. The particular design formsno part of the invention, the idea being that the invention is adaptablefor use in making a multitude of difierent designs.

While it is deemed convenient to cut all of the retaining fingers in onecalyx from a single sheet of metal, they obviously might be madeseparately. If the lead breaks with excessive bending, or if for otherreason it is desired to do so, this part of the whole can be easilyreplaced by a fresh one, upon removal of the screw 14.

I claim as my invention 1. A twine holder having members adapt-v edconjointly to hold a ball of twine, comprising a base and said membersprojecting from the base and supported only thereon,

the members being individually broad, having curvature in threedimensions of space, being bendable to and fromtheir ball-holdingpositions, and having suiiicient stifi'ness to remain inthe positions towhich they. are thus bent.

2. A twine holder comprising a combination of a base and'asingle sheetof metal fastened thereto, said sheet being out withsundry portionsprojecting from all sides of a central portion and being ofpliablematerial capable of being bent by human fingers into curvature ofthree dimensions and having sufiic-ient stiffness to remain inthepositions to, which they are thus bent,

3. A twine holder having projecting twine holding members of broad;material indi vidually sufficiently pliant to be bent by hu man fingersand thus curved in three dimensions; and a support to which the saidmeme bers are attached. f 1 V 4:. A twine holder having projectingmembers of sheet lead adapted to engage a ball of twine on varioussides; a support therefor; and attaching means. V p

5. A twine holder having projectingmembers of pliant broad materialadapted toen gage and holdtwine; a support therefor; the combination ofsaid support and said members constituting a continuous ornamentaldesign, part ofwhich isrigidand part of which is variable by humanfingers by the pliancy of said members. V p j p 6. A twine holder havingprojecting non elastic members of pliant material; a, support therefor;the said members being at tached to the support, and adapted to engageand hold twine; the individual memhere being sutficiently pliant so thatone part thereof can be moved by the human fingers into difi'erentrelation to the other parts of the same member and sufiiciently still toretain such position. I I 7. A twine holder comprising a solid porthaving a part projectingin a definite direction combined with multiple,pliable, movement being effected by flexure of the sheet oontinuationsthereof extending in the said sheet continuations thereof. 1 samegeneral direction on various sides of its Signed by me at Boston, Mass,this 24th axis and capable of being moved toward and day of December,1915.

from the axis to hold 01' release the ball of JOHN A. BURNHAM; twine,the said projecting support being Witnesses:

rigid, and the continuations rigidly attached JOSEPH T. BREMAN,

thereto, and the said holding or releasing FRANCES M. HEALEY.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G."

